Ride meets Rider: The Flock on Alagaesia
by Dragoneisha
Summary: The Flock is in a new world, with some things that are...unfamiliar... Demonic scientists are easy. Omega? Piece of cake. Global warming? Pshaw. But dragons... T for language and paranoia.
1. Prolouge: How the F Did We Get Here

**Me: Okay, Fang. You get to do the disclaimer thing.**

**Fang: But l hate the disclaimer thing!**

**James P: Fang, l didn't write you THAT arbitrary. Now shut up and do the disclaimer thing.**

**Fang: But WH-HYY?**

**Me: Because l said so!**

**James P: That's a stupid reason.**

**Christopher P: Not you too…. But it is a stupid reason.**

**Me: Shut up Chris. Fine then. Ari does the disclaimer thing.**

**Ari: Grrrr... Fine. She owns nothing, James Patterson owns Maximum Ride and Christopher Paolini owns the Inheritance Cycl-**

**Nudge: Wait, you're doing a crossover of Maximum Ride and the Inheritance Cycle? What is wrong with you!**

**Roran: What? Wait, what's Maximum Ride? And why are there feathers all over the place?**

**Eragon: They have incredibly well-shielded minds….except the author, but she jumps from one subject to another so fast l can't make any sense of it. Kinda like a butterfly.**

**Me: MUAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm confusing!**

**Will: Did someone say Chocho?**

**Me: No, he said Butterfly, and what are you doing here? This isn't your crossover!**

**Will: Who cares? It should be interesting. Now start the story already, your readers are bored.**

**Prolouge: How the F$%# Did We Get Here**

Maximum Ride opened her eyes to see blackness. Not the soft black you see in the Americas, where it never gets _really_ dark because of city lights, but true black, velvet black.

It scared her.

_Where are we? _ She thought drowsily, still groggy from a bump on the head. Did she get a bump on the head? Max dismissed the thought, looking around for the Flock. Fang was right next to her, spread-eagled on the ground.

Literally spread-_eagled,_ as his dark black wings were splayed to his sides.

Max mumbled and folded his wings for him, the unconscious prat. Naturally he had to go and give them away to - no one.

As she looked around, she saw no one near. Just miles of grasses, and trees, and foxes. Oh, and rabbits. There were a lot of rabbits.

Max spread her brown-speckled wings and lifted into the air, looking around and taking the chance of being spotted. She could just beat the crap out of anyone who saw her anyway.

She spotted Nudge and Gazzy on top of each other about ten yards away, Angel's little white wings spread on a bush, and Iggy, being Iggy, walking with his hands in front of him so he wouldn't hit a tree.

She landed in front of Angel and lifted her over her shoulder. _She's gotten bigger, _Max thought,_ and heavier!_

She whistled and Iggy turned his head- then ran smack into a tree.

Sighing, Max pulled him up and murmured into his ear.

"Do you know where we are?"

Iggy shook his head, so she dumped Angel unceremoniously into his arms. "Here. Hold Angel,while l wake the rest up."

Muttering under her breath, Max looked around one more time to make sure no one was in earshot.

Then she yelled "IGGY MADE PANCAKES!"

The eyes of everyone in the Flock snapped open.

What they didn't know was that, in the Varden camp miles away, the eyes of a blue dragon and her young Rider snapped open too.


	2. Chapter 1: The Intruders

**Me: Okay! Disclaimer time!**

**Everyone Else: *groan***

**Me: Hey! At least you guys aren't the ones about to face off Eragon and Saphira!**

**Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, Max, Angel, and Total: Yes we are! Wait what?**

**Me: Note my devilish smile….**

**Max: *punches me***

**Me: Hey! Ow!**

**Iggy: Did Max punch the author?**

**Me: Yes!**

**James P: You deserved it.**

**Chris P: Yes you did.**

**Me: Shut up or I'll bring Omega and a Shade into this! Now Max, do the disclaimer!**

**Max: Ugh….fine. James Patterson owns the Flock, Christopher Paolini owns the Inheritance Cycle, blabbitty blah blah blah…. Can I go now?**

**Me: No. Now shut up and keep going.**

**Max: Make Total do it!**

**Total: Fineee….This is somewhere between Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports and MAX for Maximum Ride and in the middle of the war for the Inheritance Cycle-Murtagh is a rider,Firnen does not exist,Nasuada is free,etc. Woof woof.**

**Me: Yay! Now l can write the story!**

**Halt: Yay. Such luck. *sarcasm sarcasm***

**Me: When did you get here?**

**Gazzy: Oops….**

**Angel: You better not have…**

**All: EW!**

**Chapter One: Why Do These Humans Have Wings?**

Max yawned as she watched the whole flock leap up in search of pancakes. "Works every time," she muttered to Iggy, then sauntered into the middle of the jumble. "Alright! Does anyone have the faintest idea where we are?" They continued groaning and stretching,so she raised her voice. "OI! Who knows where we are?"

Silence greeted her, and she sighed."Anyone know how we got here?"

Again, only silence. Max muttered.

_Where on earth are we, _she wondered. _And how do we get back?_

_I could tell you that._

Max groaned aloud at the sound of the Voice. _Go away, Voice… I am NOT in the mood for you today._

The Voice chuckled. _The answer is nowhere. You aren't on Earth._

Max was genuinely surprised by this. For one,_ how did it know?_ But considering she had tht question every time it said something,that wasn't her first priority. Her priority was _how the hell they would get back._

The Voice began to sound slightly worried. Had it had been a human,its brow would have been creased in anxiety. _But as to how you get back…_

Then it departed, leaving Max to wonder what the hell the Flock had gotten into this time.

**Saphira POV**

Saphira's wings thudded the air, Eragon perched on her back, as they searched for the bearer of the voice that had disturbed their sleep. They spoke only in their minds, so they wouldn't tip off any attackers.

It wasn't like Saphira was a gigantic blue dragon that flew quite loudly or anything. Of course not.

Saphira reached out with her mind, searching for human entities.

_I see no one,_ she murmured. _Are you sure it was from this direction? I thought it was behind us._

Eragon shook his head. _The voice was closer than this-it must've been the other way. Let's turn around._

As they turned, Saphira caught a glimpse of movement to the north. The movement seemed innocent enough,and she focused her eyes to see what it was-simply a couple humans standing and stretching. The yell must have been meant to wake them up. _Found it! There, north. But the don't seem dangerous._

_Doesn't matter. Let's catch the_ _sneakers_. He paused._ What are pancakes anyway?_

_How should l know? _She snorted. _You're the human._

As they sailed that way, Eragon drew his blade, ready for battle…

**Max POV**

Maximum Ride was at a minimum. She had no ideas. An alien planet, probably hostile? Unless the Voice was lying. It'd happened before, after all…. She turned to Fang. He raised an eyebrow,and she took a deep breath.

"We have a problem."

She motioned him away from the whispering group, and explained what the Voice had said. He thought about the for a moment, but what he said was not the thing Max had expected to hear.

"Makes sense."

Max stared at him like he'd just grown seven heads and started dancing the jitterbug.

Fang frowned."Well, we wake up in the middle of nowhere, with this kind of grass, foxes everywhere, and no town in sight. Where would we be on Earth that was like this?"

Max never managed to answer that question, because at that moment Angel shrieked. Max whirled, looking at Angel, her eyes asking what had happened.

"Max! Max, look up!"

Maximum Ride looked up to see a giant blue dragon.

_**Yes,l know,cliffhanger,short chapter,etc. l'll update soon,but l'm going on a trip so the next chapter may not be up for a while.**_


	3. Chapter 2: Kill the Dragon!

Hey everyone, sorry for the wait but I'm heading to North Carolina and probably won't be able to post it till I get home. Yeah, eight-hour road trip. Fun. I've dropped the mouse fifteen times.

Anyway, here it is:

**Me: Disclaimers, Eragon. Now.**

**Eragon: I don't want to.**

**Me: Shame. Now do it.**

**Roran: He won't now that you said that.**

**Me: Oh, tell him to go fus ro dah himself.**

**Eragon: What?**

**Max: Hahaha**

**Chris P: He doesn't understand that, Drag.**

**Me: Who cares.**

**Fang: It's cramped in here, how do we all fit in this car...**

**Angel: Yeah, l wanna stretch my wings!**

**Katrina: The Inheritance Cycle belongs to Chris, and James owns the Flock and all associated characters.**

**Me: Thank you, Katrina! Thank you! Now I can write the story! Just for that you come into this a chapter early.**

**Alyss: The story seems quite nice to me.**

**Me: What is with these random people from Ranger's Apprentice showing up?**

_Max, your flock is panicking. Calm them down or they'll die where they stand._

Max spread her wings and yelled to the panicking flock. "U and A everyone, plan ninety!" Translation: Get in the air and beat the sh*t out of anything that moves. She tried to keep the note of panic hidden from her voice.

With the order, the flock snapped out of it. They stopped panicking and spread their wings, jumping into the air, readied for battle. All except Iggy, who was forgotten in the confusion.

Fang's black wingtip was skimmed by a jet of boiling-hot white steam. He barrel-rolled to avoid it, but it was a close call. Too close-Max made note of that defense. The steam roiled in the air above the dragon, illuminating it-and its young rider.

Max's eyes widened. The dragon had a rider! She turned to her teammates, loyal to the last. "Aim for the rider! He'll be an easier target!"

Of course, she had no idea who she was dealing with.

Her gaze landed on Iggy, who would have no chance if the dragon shot flame at him. Max looked at the steam again and smiled.

_Angel! Listen to me! Don't ask why, but your job is to distract the dragon. Make it shoot steam again! _She heard Angel's positive response, and then the little girl's white wings flashed in front of the dragon's blue muzzle.

**Saphira POV**

Saphira lashed her tail in frustration, nearly taking out the fawn-wings-two-legs in the process. She couldn't get the angel-wings-two-legs! It was simply too fast. Maybe if she breathed flame…

Her fire lung converted the air to fire, and it spilled out of her mouth in a torrent of flame. Steam came out as well, a great deal of it. Saphira saw no-sight-two-legs look up, and his eyes seemed to register something. He spread wings as well and joined the attack.

Saphira felt her delicate wing membrane rip near her last joint, and she roared and turned. It was bad-smell-two-legs.

He corkscrewed and kicked at the tear again, causing a jolt of pain to sear its way up Saphira's wing. A bolt of blue flame came from Eragon's direction, driving him away.

She could feel the weight of Eragon on her back, but he was quiet in the link. He seemed busy defending himself from the black-wings-two-legs, who had the presence of mind to pick up a stout stick to block Brisingr.

It was a good idea until the stick was set on fire. Black-wings-two-legs yelled in pain and dropped the stick, his hands red and raw. While he was distracted, Eragon's sword fell onto his wing, causing him to scream in pain and fall towards the ground, unconscious.

Max saw Fang fall, red blood trailing behind him. She shrieked and dove, landing next to him. She scooped him into her arms and cradled his head, worry crinkling her brow.

_Oh god oh god oh god….is he dead? He can't be dead, he's FANG! Fang can't be DEAD!_

_The Rider has magic. He can help… if he so chooses._

Max furrowed her brow. One, _how the hell did it know that,_ and two, how would they make the rider want to help?

The idea came in a matter of seconds. It was the kind of idea she would never have resorted to-except in this situation.

Her head came up slowly, her eyes filled with a red-hot anger and hatred.

"_Flock! No more distraction! Aim to kill the dragon!"_

**Teehee. I know you all hate me right now, but you're lucky l can put this up at all. L'm piggybacking an open network, so say thank you for the early story.**

**Review, and l'll post faster.**


	4. Chapter 3: And Everything Was Pain

**Yeah, yeah, l took a long time, why didn't you update, are you dead, etc… l was at camp. I'm sorry that l went to sleepaway camp. I have a life, you know.**

**Kind of.**

**Max: You did take a long time…**

**Fang: Wait-did l just die?**

**Me: No, silly! Not yet anyway.**

**Nudge: Not…yet? *is speechless-a revolutionary event***

**Tug: *nicker*(It's okay.)**

**Fang: Don't console me! She just said she's gonna kill me!**

**Morgarath: Deal.**

***momentary silence***

**Me: Why are they here again?**

**Eragon: F^%& you.**

**Me: l don't suppose anyone's going to do disclaimers.**

**Roran: F^%& you too.**

**Me: That's it, Roran dies.**

**Katrina: She owns nothing. At all. Not even the laptop-it's her brother's. Can you not kill Roran now?**

**Me: Eh…mebbe. I'll think about it.**

**Tug: *whinny*(Write the story already!)**

**Fang's POV**

Pain.

Naught but pain.

The sounds of a battle and great wings flapping were distant, nonexistent. All that existed was the pain.

It roared through his body like a living creature, feeding on his suffering and growing by the minute. Everything was white and black, and everything was pain.

Fang did not groan in agony,he did not shriek or cry.

And because of that, the pain was ten times worse.

For everything was white and black, and everything was pain…

**Eragon's POV**

"…Aim to kill the dragon!"

What? They were going to kill Saphira? He hadn't meant to hit the leader that hard-it was only a capture mission-but it didn't matter now. It wouldn't happen! He wouldn't let it!

_There's also the fact that l'm a dragon, little one._

He swung at a young tan-skinned girl with fawn-colored wings-minus the wings she looked like Nasuada._ But they aren't like anything we've fought before! What if they manage to get through?_

With a huff, Saphira tossed her head and snapped at the apparent second-in-command, the one with tan-speckled wings. The girl's eyes glistened with rage and sadness-and the need for vengeance.

The speckle-winged girl dived at Saphira again, nearly hitting her in the eye. Eragon could feel Saphira's surprise at the girl's adept flying skills and quick reflexes-he was impressed, too.

_They're probably a band of pointed-ears-two legs that gave themselves wings._

Eragon thought about this while deflecting a wild swing from the white-winged little girl-she looked six!-and heard a different, younger voice in his head.

_You can't win against us. Just sheath your sword and land the beast. You will be fine._

Eragon recognized mind-control when he saw it, and immediately put up barriers. It was truly convincing him, though-what a mind-reader!

The little angel-winged girl above him laughed. The laugh reverberated in his mind, and Eragon's eyes widened. She was the mind-reader!

The girl grinned.

_Surprise you? I thought so-and your barriers won't work on me. _The girl did a little flip.

_I don't work that way._

**Max POV**

Rage.

Sorrow.

Pain.

Rage and sadness and pain ruled her world now, and everything was black on white. Everything was in slow motion, and she ould anticipate the dragon's actions through it eyes and movements.

In school, they had learned of Vikings and berserker rages. She knew she was in one.

But it did not matter to her. All that mattered was that they had hurt Fang, and for that they had to _pay_.

The dragon would have to go first-it would be easier to fight the Rider when he didn't have his beast. The thing's blue scales glistened in the light of battle, and its side glowed red with blood-Fang's blood.

Max's rage was redoubled and she dived at its head, aiming to force it down or hit its eye.

She heard Angel distract the Rider, trying to make him land his pet and dismount. If that plan worked, the beast would not be a worry-it was obviously well trained, and would do what its Rider told it to.

Iggy had somehow found bombs from who knows where and was pelting the dragon's hide with them. The beast turned its head and roared, obviously irritated by the explosions.

Gazzy pelted its other side, making it turn and snap at him.

The rider turned and held his hand out, speaking a word in a strange language, his eyes locked on Gazzy.

Gazzy looked panicked for a split second, then his wings relaxed and his eyes shut.

As Max watched, Gazzy plummeted to the ground…

Max dove for him, laying him down gently next to Fang. She shot back into the air, attacking with renewed fervor.

For everything was white and black, and everything was pain.

**I know. I'm taking a long time to write this out. Deal, okay? This is my first fanfiction. Criticism appreciated, but don't flame. You're welcome for even writing this.**

**Sorry, I'm in a bad mood…SHUT UP YOU DAMN FINCHES! :E3**

**Unpleasantly exasperated with these stupid birds,**

**The Dragoness**


	5. Chapter 4: Now You've Done It

**Herro! Yolo! Whatever! I am writing this on my NEWLY REPAIRED laptop! Yippee! Better yet, I am not in the same house with those stupid finches! YAYAYAY0..!**

**Max: Wait, am I Scandinavian?**

**Me: Not that I know of...**

**Fang: *groan***

**Eragon: You're gonna get him healed this chapter,right?**

**Me: Up to you.**

**2coolfireworks: You should,Dragon.**

**Me: Hu-what are YOU doing here!**

**2coolfireworks: Looking at this while hosting Raven Empire practice-which you should be at-and why are you using the word YAY?**

**Me: I quit the Ravens like two years ago. You aren't my leader anymore.**

**2coolfireworks: *sword draw***

**Horace: *also sword draw***

**2coolfireworks: *fights***

**Horace: *fights***

**Me: Eye roll...2cool,if you read this, Hi. Teehee! No one but me and anyone who plays ROBLOX will understand this reference...point made! Okay,l own nothing, except for some copies of the series.**

**Gazzy: *Gas bomb***

**Everyone Else: X.x *faints***

**Angel's Canary: *dies from noxious fumes***

**Saphira POV**

Saphira snorted and snapped at the speckle-wings-two-legs, watching her dart away. Again. She was very aggravated at this point,and growled in frustration. A spark of inspriation lit her eyes, and Saphira reached into the girl's mind.

It was a mess. The girl saw in black and white, and everything went in slow-motion. Rage and pain drove her to attack,to force Saphira to the ground, to make Eragon heal the two injured ones.

And then she'd kill them.

As she withdrew, Saphira turned her head toward Eragon.

_I know what they plan! She wants you to heal black-wings-two-legs in exchange for my life._

Eragon deflected a fire-shell from the blind-eyes-two-legs. _Are you sure?_

_Of course I am,little one. She values her...flock...more than anything._

Eragon raised his sword and yelled, "BRISINGR!" as his sword burst into blue flames.

That certainly got the attention of everyone present.

Saphira landed and folded her wings, letting Eragon climb off. She watched with pride as her Rider began to negotiate with this unfamiliar enemy.

**Eragon POV**

Eragon cleared his throat and crossed his arms. Inside, his mind was reeling.

_How am I going to do this? If I don't get this right, Saphira or the black-winged leader would die._

_Your call, little one._

So he decided to just wing it. It always worked in the scrolls, right?

"I can tell what you're trying to do." He lifted his head and eyed the girl with the brown-speckled wings. She and her remaining 'flock' members were circling above him, wary.

The angel-winged girl was the first to land, folding her wings in front of him, her eyes burning.

"What did you do to my brother!"

So either the leader or the smelly one was her brother. He filed that away in case it was needed, and sensed Saphira doing the same.

He looked at the unconscious boy next to the wounded leader. "Presumably I either stabbed him or put him to sleep. Depends on which one you mean. Now, I can fix them, but you'll have to come with me-"

The one with blank eyes landed next to her, and the girl that looked like Nasuada with wings shortly after. The blank-eyed boy opened his mouth to speak, but the girl with dark skin interrupted.

"How dare you! First you bring us to wherever we are,where are we by the way, and leave us stranded-WITHOUT TOTAL-but then you attack us with that blue _thing_ over there and nearly kill Fang and Gazzy! Gazzy is Angel's _brother _and you nearly killed him! Max loves Fang-" The second-in-command nearly fell out of the sky at this-" and you d-DID kill h-him..."

The girl dissolved into sobs at this point, and Eragon had to resist the urge to go over and comfort her. Also, how did she manage to fit all those words into one breath?

The second-in-command-Max, he guessed-landed behind her and wrapped a wing around the distraught girl, whispering in her ear.

With his heightened hearing, Eragon heard every word.

"It's okay, Nudge...it's fine...we'll fix them, no matter what. And then we'll get back at the man, I promise. After we fix this, we'll get back home, okay?"

The girl-Nudge-sniffed. "O-okay."

Eragon didn't know what to make of this. What had he done? And if these people were working for Galbatorix, where did they have to get back to?

**Nudge POV**

_Ohmygod Gazzy's hurt I kinda like him but I'm afraid to say it whoops I just did oh well technically I just thought it but Angel camn hear me it doesn't matter that bastard killed Fang! I can't believe it Fang's dead it isn't possible I won't believe it..._

Nudge went on like that for a while.

**Max POV**

The rider looked a little distraught-almost as if he hadn't meant to cause this. Well,he did. Stupid boy shouldn't have been in their business anyway.

Max patted Nudge and folded her wings.

"Alright. What will it take for you to heal them?"

The man/boy looked confused. "How did you-?"

Max raised an eyebrow."One, you ride a dragon, two, you told us, and three, a... little... annoying birdie told me."

She knew the Flock would guess about the Voice.

Max waitied for his answer, then felt Angel intrude on her thoughts. She growled under her breath.

_Out of my head, Angel. NOW!_

_Ah, ah, ah, this isn't your little mindreader friend-what! Saphira is not 'well-trained'! You little-how dare you!_

Max's eyes locked on the rider, who now looked supremely irritated. With her.

Great. She'd managed to irritate the only hope of healing Fang. This worked ab-solutely great.

**Teehee. l love being antagonizing to you guys, because you can't do a thing about it! And you want to see if Fang dies or not-because l'm considering it. By the way, someone has mentioned a few questions that I will now answer.**

**Yes, Eragon has been adapted by the Agaeti Blodhren or however you spell it.**

**No, I will not tell you if this ends with Galbatorix's defeat-that would ruin the story!**

**Yes, Fax or Erax-I have not decided which-and possibly Nuzzy And definite Shiggy.(You haven't met this person yet,she's an OC!)**

**Yes, I will warn you if this gets..you know.**

**Mk, Dragon out!**

**-The Dragoness**


	6. This is not a chapter, it is an apology

Me: Ohey...sorry. l have major writer's block.

Fang: -stands there silently in a huff-

Me: Fang, we voted that you do it.

Angel: He's throwing a hissy fit.

Fang: Am not...

Katrina: Please do it, Fang. It's not like it's disclaimers...

Max: Fang. Now.

Fang: Fine. -deep breath- Dragon has writer's block and won't be able to put up the story for a while. She's trying to work through it but it may take a few more days. We apologize and will deal with any hate-letters. She's very sorry but she just can't do it at the moment. Also, school's coming up so the chapters will come slower.

Me: -derp face- Sorry...

Will: We are so dissapointed in you.

Me: Shut up, l'm halfway through the chapter!

Seriously, l AM sorry. It took me forever just to write that. I can't write ANYTHING at the moment, but so help me l am trying my best.

Apologies,

The Dragoness


	7. Chapter 5: Why You Don't Piss Off Riders

**Fang: I hate you.**

**Me: Seriously, we're gonna do this again?!**

**Max: You locked us in the closet!**

**Me: You had food and water…**

**Eragon: How did you fit Saphira into the closet? And where the hell did you get a wild boar?**

**Me: It's better not to know these things…who's doing disclaimers?**

***sudden silence***

**Me: As a thirteenth birthday present?**

**Gazzy: *sigh* Fine. She owns nothing.**

**Me: Except Shakrii and Veyron.**

**Shakrii: Gracious, my head aches….where am l?**

**Iggy: Uh-ah-um-uh-h-hi.**

**Veyron:**_** What's happening here?!**_

**Me: Schist! Uh, back in the closet with both of you! You aren't in the story yet!**

**Lady Pauline: Oh dear.**

**Angel POV**

An angered thought attracted Angel's attention.

_How dare they! HOW DARE THEY!_

The dragon snarled, rearing up on its hind legs. Angel instantly went on alert. The beast was capable of sentient thought? If it understood them, it could turn out to be a problem… The dragon might also be capable of mindspeak like the man-it had been hard enough to get through his barriers, but the dragon felt even more strong-willed.

Though she'd played like her 'powers' let her bypass his guard easily, the man had been very stubborn. (It seemed a characteristic of his.) She almost hadn't broken the barriers at all. If everyone here was capable of this, she wouldn't last long.

Max's soft words broke her out of her thoughts and into the real world. Though they were soft, her voice was still taut with the anger she was hiding.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to offend you." She crossed her arms. _They deserved it._

Angel had to agree with that statement.

The blue-scaled behemoth beside the man growled and lowered itself back onto four legs. It turned its head so that one narrowed eye regarded Max. lt growled a low rumble and took a step forward, the sharp talons digging into the dirt.

Angel felt the man reach out to his beast, too concerned to uphold proper barriers.

_Saphira, we might as well help._ Apparently the beast's name was Saphira. An odd choice, presumably, but considering the planet they were on was alien, unsurprising.

_No. I refuse. I'll eat them._

_You don't eat people…._

_That's what you think._

Slightly unnerved, Angel left them to their debate. It was probably a bad idea to intrude.

Especially if the thing _did_ eat people.

**Max POV**

_The thing eats people._

The Voice's intrusion of her mind surprised Max. It usually didn't come back so fast.

_Yes, it's a dragon….it would eat people…_

_No. It's going to eat _you_. Make a compromise. _Max started and looked at the snarling dragon in a new light. Its teeth were sharp, and a sulfur-like smell came from its mouth. Its great wings were furled against its back, and sharp spikes went all the way down its back, following its spinal cord. Blue scales glinted in the light, and a long, whiplike tail thrashed in irritation. The spikes were several feet long at the end, melding into a sharp diamond point.

_Okay. That's less good._

She decided to ignore the Voice and concentrate on making a truce.

"Look, boy… and dragon, I suppose."

They turned toward her simultaneously. One of the dragon's ears was sticking up at an angle, giving it a lopsided look. She heard Nudge stifle a giggle.

The man answered in a very irritated-sounding voice. "What."

Max swallowed and decided to go the polite route, however overgrown that road was. Quite honestly, as he had a frinking great dragon beside him, it was probably a good idea.

"Fang is hurt bad, probably dying. We all know that. You can save him, and we'd like you to do it now, so his rant about how he didn't need help will be over quicker." It'd only last thirty seconds anyway, and then he'd mope for about an hour, in his typical silent-goth-chicken style.

The man crossed his arms. "You called Saphira a mongrel-dog." The dragon snarled, and Angel winced in the corner of Max's eye. She'd talk with her about that later.

"Angel is sorry about that, _aren't you, Angel?"_ Angel nodded rapidly. _Please make it stop growling at me!_ "You see? No harm done. Just heal Fang, and we'll be on our way."

Max balanced on her toes as the man sheathed his sword, watching her warily.

"On your way? I don't think so." He crossed his arms, and for the first time Max realized how much he looked like Fang. They were the same height, and had the same sandy ragged hair that Max had started to kind of like. He even put on an irritated face like Fang did… but Fang didn't have pointed ears.

Wait a minute, pointed ears?

Before she could consider this further, the man spoke again. "You'll come with me."

The man held out his hand and spoke a strange, guttural word, and then all was darkness.

**Eragon POV**

He watched as the remaining winged-folk sank to the ground, their eyes closing in the magicked sleep. The second-in-command really was quite pretty.

_Don't you start. Just because Arya rejected you does not mean you can go around looking for another female._

Eragon turned towards Saphira, raising an eyebrow. _Seriously?_

_You heard me, youngling. _She snorted. _Don't start being a tail-chaser._

_Hey, relax. I was just noting she was pretty. _He rolled his eyes. _Can you carry them all?_

_Of course._ She snorted and grabbed the dark-skinned one with her tail, lifting her between two of her spines. _Heal the leader, will you?_

Eragon nodded, then knelt beside the one with the injured wing. The cut was deep- he could see the narrow bones through the sheen of blood… and there was a lot of blood.

He stretched the wing out, and the boy, for he couldn't have been more than fifteen, groaned slightly.

"Sorry, sorry, I need to heal it, sorry…" Stretching his hand over the wound, he muttered, "Waise heill."

Once he started healing it, Eragon realized the wound was much deeper than he thought. It actually went all the way through the boy's black-feathered wing.

"Perfect."

Eragon's hand glowed with a slight blue light as his mind invaded the wound, stitching muscle together and repairing the scar in the bone. He reconnected the tendon and made sure the artery he'd cut had been resewn.

The boy shifted, and Eragon sat back in exhaustion. A healing of that level took a lot of energy. Actually, it was surprising he was conscious.

Eragon attributed that to the Agaeti Blodhren. His mind drifted back to the amazing spectacle-the tattoo, the elf women, the dance…

So absorbed was he in his thoughts, he was completely unprepared for the sudden attack of a recently awakened and very angry Gazzy.

**Okay. So I have written this… oh joy... sorry it took so long. I realized how stupid of an idea this was fairly quickly. And mister 'write longer chapters'? Thanks for the advice. I'm trying. I barely have an hour a day to write **_**if l'm lucky.**_

**Yes, this is late. Sorry. But as (watch out for Nevermore spoiler (the book was not very good)) Angel is the Voice, my head hurts too much having to destroy the entire plotline and rewrite it.**

**Two things-Chapter Six will be an Author's Excuse chapter thingy. Because I was an idiot and inexperienced and started this without a buffer, but mostly just an idiot, I have to write as fast as I can. And considering the six actual stories that aren't FFNs l'm also writing, as well as anipwrites' story l'm betaing, this will be a challenge. I apologize. This was a longer chapter because I was gone so long.**


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